Here’s a general article from 2020 about the arrangement:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donors-can-now-give-620600-to-biden-and-dnc-expanding-democratic-big-money-fundraising/2020/05/16/d2bf51cc-978a-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html

Here’s Donna Brazil’s 2016 article about it, if any of this is news to you. You should read the whole thing.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/02/clinton-brazile-hacks-2016-215774/

The original (and nothing on paper has changed btw) deal:

Individuals who had maxed out their $2,700 contribution limit to the campaign could write an additional check for $353,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund—that figure represented $10,000 to each of the 32 states’ parties who were part of the Victory Fund agreement—$320,000—and $33,400 to the DNC. The money would be deposited in the states first, and transferred to the DNC shortly after that. Money in the battleground states usually stayed in that state, but all the other states funneled that money directly to the DNC, which quickly transferred the money to Brooklyn.

“Wait,” I said. “That victory fund was supposed to be for whoever was the nominee, and the state party races. You’re telling me that Hillary has been controlling it since before she got the nomination?”

Gary said the campaign had to do it or the party would collapse.

If youre not going to read the article, I need to point out at least this:

the states kept less than half of 1 percent of the $82 million they had amassed from the extravagant fund-raisers Hillary’s campaign was holding, just as Gary had described to me when he and I talked in August. When the Politico story described this arrangement as “essentially … money laundering” for the Clinton campaign, Hillary’s people were outraged at being accused of doing something shady. Bernie’s people were angry for their own reasons, saying this was part of a calculated strategy to throw the nomination to Hillary.

And this:

The agreement—signed by Amy Dacey, the former CEO of the DNC, and Robby Mook with a copy to Marc Elias—specified that in exchange for raising money and investing in the DNC, Hillary would control the party’s finances, strategy, and all the money raised. Her campaign had the right of refusal of who would be the party communications director, and it would make final decisions on all the other staff. The DNC also was required to consult with the campaign about all other staffing, budgeting, data, analytics, and mailings.

And it’s very important to make clear this was during the 2016 primary when she was running against Bernie, her primary campaign team literally controlled the DNC.

Nothing changed since 2016 except more states signed on, and the name before “victory fund” changes every four years.

But the way the VFs work, is taking the max a person can give to a state party, saying that was made to the state party, and then counting it as presidential money and using it for the presidential campaign

The do or can’t go back and give more to state parties.

So, it’s literally taking money out of state party coffers that they can not replace from the same donor.